The sibling complex

Unlike representatives of classical psychoanalysis, the author contends that what he refers to as sibling complex is not merely a derivative or an avoidance of the Oedipus complex but is a complex in its own right, with a structure, a dynamic, and a specific economy of its own. He sets out to demonstrate that the specific nature of the complex is based on its organization and its function. He distinguishes two separate forms. The archaic variety maintains relations with the brother/sister that display psychic features of a part-object. They figure as appendages of the mother's imaginary body or the individual's own imaginary body. The other form inscribes itself in a pre-oedipal and oedipal triangle marked by rivalry. The author believes that in this regard the Oedipus complex plays a part in the transformation of the archaic sibling complex.